Overcome Self-Sabotage on the Basketball Court

A young man playing at the Division 1 level is an amazing player. (Not Pictured) He has perfect form, he is a high percentage shooter, and he is a great athlete. The other night he shot 1 for 8 and missed two crucial free throws. Why? Would it have to do with the fact his father told him he was a loser over and over again when he was a young man? Would it be that his inner voice tells him he is a failure? It doesn’t matter how many perfect shots this college player makes during practice, or how many free throws he makes during his individual work-outs, he is missing free throws because he is sabotaging his game. Thoughts which spring uncontrolled into the mind come from the heart. When your core belief is that you are a failure; your actions will follow your belief. The destruction of self-sabotage changes when we seek wise counsel and begin to have courage at the heart level; courage to forgive those who have hurt us, courage to forgive ourselves, courage to live in freedom instead of fear of failure.

Pick an area that is failing because of self-sabotage not skill level. (Missing free throws, bobbling the ball, losing focus, repetitious mistakes)
Look at all the words you say to yourself when you make a mistake.
Now look at the thoughts you think. What thoughts trigger you in a negative way? What feelings do they create?
Now look at your heart. What is at the root—bitterness, shame, fear, envy, jealousy, resentment?
Have the courage to start addressing the root issues. You can do this with a wise mentor who can help you begin to see what is at the core.

For this young man, his work to win on the court had to start by his addressing his anger and bitterness toward his father. As he began to forgive his dad, he was better able to forgive himself on the court and stop the downward spiral of self-sabotage. Words are power. Right now, his job is to find the right words to say when he is playing and say them quietly aloud to himself; words like “Freedom, Swish, I love this, I’m thankful, I’m in the moment. I love life.”

You can overcome ways you sabotage yourself on the court but it requires you to get at the source of the self-sabotage. Do the work and the results will set you free to play the way you know you can.

NBC Basketball Camps are one of the leading basketball training programs in the world and use proven sports psychology research to bring athletes to a higher level. For more information visit www.nbccamps.com for more information.